January 20, 2021
In Georgia, a teenage girl critically ill with COVID-19 complicated by fulminant myocarditis, heart failure, and multiorgan clots needed to get on extracorporeal membrane oxygen (ECMO) if she was to survive but doctors at the tertiary center didn’t have the staff to run the machines. They’d lost the majority of their permanent nurses to higher paid “travelling” positions elsewhere, so needed to request transfer.
In neighboring Florida, a cardiac/neuro lab tech, feeling undervalued, overworked, and unmotivated, made the difficult decision to give up her full-time position to become a traveler, accepting short-term positions at COVID-19 hotspots around the US.